President of the Manor House (Austria)

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Anton von Schmerling , president of the manor house in 1871

The President of the Herrenhaus (short: Herrenhauspräsident ) was the chairman of the Herrenhaus , the upper house of the Austrian Imperial Council . He stood in the state protocol , in the hierarchy at court, before the President of the House of Representatives . The last incumbent was Alfred Prince Windisch-Grätz .

appointment

The president was appointed by the emperor by handwriting from the center of the manor house before the beginning of each session of the Reichsrat ; only men were considered, as the mansion, according to the name, consisted only of men. As a rule, the emperor looked for a person of the highest nobility whom he could trust. The term of office of the President ended with the respective session, not (as is the case today with the President of the Austrian National Council ) with the legislative period.

The length of a session, which was always the same for both houses of the Reichsrat, depended on whether the House of Representatives, which was elected at least every six years, was able to work through the adjournment achieved by the imperial government. This was achieved from 1873 to 1897: In the four legislative periods V to VIII of six years each, there were four sessions VIII to XI. 1901–1907 it succeeded for the last time: The Xth legislative period coincided with the XVII. Session. In contrast, in the four-year IX. Legislative period from 1897 to 1900 that required five Sessions XII to XVI; it was the time of the Badeni riots and their aftermath.

The emperor had, what did not happen in practice, the right to remove the president; he could not be recalled from the manor house itself. Re-appointment for the next session was permissible if the previous incumbent remained a member of the manor. The manor itself had no say in the appointment of the president. The emperor could of course be advised unofficially in the exercise of his discretion on the appointment.

Deputy

Alexander Schönburg-Hartenstein, vice president of the manor house

The president of the manor house had a vice-president as deputy until 1869, from 1870 (VI. Session) to two, in 1917/1918 (XXII. Session) three, who were also appointed by the emperor from among the manor house. Together with the President, they formed the Presidium. The rules of procedure of the Reichsrat did not contain any requirement as to how many vice-presidents were to be appointed.

If the president was unable to attend, the (first) vice-president took his place, if he was unable to do so, the second from 1870, and the third vice-president in 1917/1918 when he was unable to attend. The chairmen took turns in longer meetings, even if they were not prevented from attending.

Legal basis

The legal basis for the manor house president and his deputies was § 8 of the Basic Law on Reich Representation of February 26, 1861 ( Reichsgesetzblatt (RGBl.) No. 20/1861 ) of the February patent called constitutional document. After that, the mansion received its president and his deputy.

The procedure in the Reichsrat was regulated by the Rules of Procedure Act passed in 1873 and later amended ( law of May 12, 1873 relating to the Rules of Procedure of the Reichsrathes , RGBl. No. 94/1873), which applied to both houses. Change requests from one house had to be agreed with the other house so that an agreed legal text could be passed in both houses.

tasks

View of the presidium of the manor house in the meeting room in the Reichsrat building (photo taken in 1902)

The most important function of the mansion president was to lead the mansion meetings. To do this, he took a seat on the presidium podium in the plenary hall of the manor house, so sat opposite all the other members.

The President represented the manor house and was the addressee of all bills and bills that were introduced by the emperor, the kk government, the House of Representatives or from the center of the manor house. He was also the recipient of all petitions that came from within Parliament or addressed to the manor house.

Subordinate to him too

  • the office , consisting of scrutators and verifiers chosen by the house from among its members ,
  • the officials appointed by the President after the approval of the house, mostly noble secretaries and
  • the officials of the manor's office (whom he appointed himself).

Scrutators were members of the House who were used to collect and count ballot papers or to count when voting by show of hands. Members acted as verifiers who had to confirm or certify the correctness of a process.

The library and shorthand service were operated jointly for both houses by the Reichsrat.

President

Vice President

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Law of July 31, 1861, RGBl. No. 78/1861 (= p. 445 f.)
  2. ↑ Law of May 12, 1873, RGBl. No. 94/1873 (= p. 353 f.)
  3. ↑ Law of June 11, 1917, RGBl. No. 253/1917 (= p. 643 f.)
  4. ^ Index of the Stenographic Protocols of the Reichsrat, XII. Session, Section VI. Personal details of the manor house of the Reichsrathes
  5. ^ Gustav Adolf Metnitz:  Auersperg, Karl Maria Alexander Fürst, Duke of Gottschee. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6 , p. 438 ( digitized version ).
  6. ↑ Stenographic Protocol. Mansion. 39th meeting of the XXII. session

literature

  • G. Stourzh: The development of the first chamber in the Austrian constitution with special consideration of the period from 1848-61 . Dissertation, Vienna 1951.